Salman carries this glossy spy thriller, but its script struggles to keep up.
Verdict tier Mixed, lukewarm or divided, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.
Not streaming in India
Critic consensus
Critical reception for Ek Tha Tiger was mixed-to-positive, with most reviewers acknowledging it as an entertaining, commercially oriented spy thriller. Salman Khan's screen presence and the film's slick action sequences, international locations, and production values were the most consistently praised elements across reviews. Several critics noted it as an improvement over Khan's recent output, though a number pointed to a weak or underdeveloped script as the film's primary shortcoming, with some suggesting it required audiences to disengage their critical faculties. A tension between the film's aspirations toward seriousness and its tendency toward mindless entertainment was also flagged by a few reviewers.
Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10
AI-generated summary of 12 critic reviews · may contain errors
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Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated
Top critic
Film review ·
Ek Tha Tiger isn't what one whould rate as great cinema, but it isn't just harmless fun. The pacifist message dovetailed into its core lends the film a far greater degree of relevance than Bollywood spy thrillers generally strive for.
Top critic
Film review ·
Ek Tha Tiger is Salman Khan's best film since Dabangg. But because his last two films were Ready and Bodyguard, the bar is not exactly high. Still, Ek Tha Tiger has more of a story as well as greater coherence and emotion than both those films put together.
Top critic
Film review ·
There are two conflicting factors in Ek Tha Tiger: Salman Khan's overriding principle of silliness and Kabir Khan's intrinstic liking for seriousness. But so overwhelming is Bhai's past aura that serious keeps threatening to slide into silly, and the moment you give in to that in-between space, the film becomes something you can enjoy. Most of the time.
Top critic
Film review ·
Despite its obvious flaws, 'Ek Tha Tiger' is far from unwatchable. It's a welcome change from the harebrained films we've seen Salman Khan in lately, and for what it's worth he's playing a character and not himself for a change. The question you have to ask is – Is that enough?
Film review ·
What works for the film big time apart from Salman Khan is the action. It's slick and woven well into the script. It pushes the story forward unlike the song which jerks it backwards (by many miles). Also, the fact that Salman is gung-ho about the action and romance in this film is a huge plus. Clearly, he is having the time of his life, doing what he loves to do best and in return getting appreciation from his fans.
Film review ·
On the whole, EK THA TIGER is a high-octane thriller that works big time. This one has style and substance, both, besides dazzling action, stunning international locales and stylish execution. Most importantly, it has Salman Khan, the trump card of this enterprise. There's no denying that Salman's charisma has resulted in a mind-blowing, astounding, never-seen-before start at the ticket window, but the film's content will sustain it thereafter. The film has long legs to prolong its splendid run. This is, without doubt, Salman's best. Sure shot Blockbuster!
Film review ·
Ek Tha Tiger, by far, is Salman Khan's most entertaining and accomplished works in recent times. Hope he takes the correct cues from this film and stays away from mediocrity henceforth.
Film review ·
Salman never fails to entertain and the release of Ek Tha Tiger is aptly timed. This Tiger is sure to bite his way to another box office success. That's not news anymore.
Film review ·
For those asking, yes, Salman Khan does take off his shirt. Salman fans won't be disappointed by Ek Tha Tiger. For others, it's a fun watch even though it's a bit long.
Film review ·
Ek Tha Tiger has a lot going for it with its two certified stars no one will contract an eyesore looking at and a supporting cast (Ranvir Shorey, Girish Karnad) that never lets you down along with plush production values typical to a Yash Raj product.
Film review ·
Ek Tha Tiger is a film that had everything going for it – two biggest stars, high production values, immense hype, but once again the lack of a good script brought a potentially good film down. This Tiger doesn't quite manage to roar.
Film review ·
If you are a Salman Khan fan, you would love it for sure and the movie might rake-in the moolah because of the superstar! It will certainly entertain you if you leave your brains outside the theatre!
From our readers
32 ratings · user score 5.1
It is made to extract the money from pure Salman Khan fans. Written with an unconvincing storyline. There is nothing very bad but nothing good also. All in all, it is a polished crap.
Salman Khan is a phenomenon. I realised that in the theatre. There are imitators (fans) all around. "Kitni sigret peeta hai. Kutte ki tarah haanp raha hai." Ceetees, taalis. This scenario is right out of 70s and 80s, when Rajesh Khanna's and Amitabh Bachchan's movies released and fans went berserk. If this is the barometer of Sallu's popularity, then he has the pulse of nation in his hand. That day is not far, when he'll be the PRIME MINISTER. (Remember, MGR and NTR were mass-ive CMs.) ETT rests on four bamboos - Sallu, Kat, Rocket and Ranvir Shorey. By now, you all know the story of the entire movie by heart (and today is only the sixth day). I'm just paying lip service here. Hindustan-Pakistan, RAW-ISI. Tiger-Zoya. Tiger is the epitome of fearless courage, who can mince meat and cut enemies like gajar-kakdi. Zoya is the epitome of femininity. Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. She is delectable, almost good enough to eat. One wouldn't associate her being an agent and that too of neighbouring country. But this secret is out soon enough. Between duty and heart, Tiger chooses the latter. Zoya too does the same. And trouble brews with a capital T. Agents from both the countries chase them. But can anyone catch determined hearts? And they lived happily ever after... Aah, end of the story. But my heart craves for more. Even when the movie is over, I'm happy. They both look so good together. Just like made for each other. ETT turns this Kat into a tigress, who'll herald the 200+ to 300+ crore club. Sallu looks properly besotted by Kat. The Kat has tamed the Tiger. She asks him, "Nahin ab tumhari umar ho gayi hai shaadi ki." I too wish that he finally gets settled. There are no more milestones for him to set or any more records to break. He needs to have his family, his life. And the time for that is now. He should get settled. He looked almost vulnerable, yet invincible. Movies may come and go but a Sallu junior is the most wanted. Apart from Sallu and Kat, the doggie Rocket stole whatever remained of my heart. In his brief role, he left an indelible impression. I'm looking for a dog like him. Rocket meri pocket mein hona chahiye. (This is my dialogue, just like Sallu's clappable ones in the movie.) And Ranvir Shorey is on the verge of stardom. His laid-back acting left me gasping. He knew he was acting with Sallu but nowhere he showed, he was awed by Sallu's presence. He was just himself, a powerhouse of talent. He fits the big screen. There are excellent songs, excellent cinematography, excellent everything else. But for me the movie was paisa vasool when Sallu stopped the train single-handedly!, when he jumped off the buildings, when he somersaulted into the plane, when he made mincemeat of the bad guys and when he drove his power bike. He was in his elements. They don't make men like him anymore. With God above and his fans below, he doesn't need anyone else. His devotees are flocking the temple (sorry, theatres) and records are being set.
There are many spy thriller films which have been successful in entertaining the audiences, but Ek Tha tiger proves to be the worst film of all time largely because of a single reason: it doesn't stay true to the genre expected & due to that, it can be said that the promos are deceptive. First, I thought that it would be an entertaining movie, but it was only after watching the film that I realized that for the very first time, in case of an ACTION movie, I was wrong. The film would have been entertaining if there was something more like action. There is overdose of romantic and dramatic scenes which draws us towards tedium. The songs are good, but Due to their poor placement ,they do not look entertaining at all. Performances have been the worst on the part of each and every actor. The action scenes are just OK, but that is not enough. Something is missing. The film wasn't supposed to be a romantic drama but an action thriller. On the whole, Ek Tha tiger fails as a film.It is a big, big, big disappointment. Watch it if you want to be disappointed
'Ek Tha Tiger' has its share of flaws, including the flat-out general storytelling and a tedious flow of character-sketches which come repeatedly, but the scripting of it is not-so-obvious: it is coherent, narrative-driven and laden with ample emotions through its core. It is problematic, but it is a hugely entertaining Salman Khan movie because it makes you suspend disbelief and look at the screen with amazement.
Credits
Salman KhanTiger
Katrina KaifZoya
Girish KarnadShenoy
Ranvir ShoreyGopi
Gavie ChahalCaptain Abrar
Roshan SethProfessor Anwar Jamaal KidwaiHindi films like Ek Tha Tiger
SeriesTiger Zinda Hai
2017
SeriesTiger 3
2023
Bajrangi Bhaijaan
2015
Phantom
2015
New York
2009
Bang Bang!
2014
Bharat
2019
Kisi Ka Bhai... Kisi Ki Jaan
2023
Veer
2010
Dabangg
2010
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